of new



n. B. HALE, or

` sxrRT-SUPPon-TER;

specification of Letters Patent No. 26,491, dated December 2o, `1859.1

To all whomV it may concern: i l i Be it known that I, D. B. HALE, ofthe city and State of New York, have invented anew and useful Garment or Article of 5 Apparel for Ladies Wear for Supporting a the Skirts or Lower Garments and Relieving the Abdomen and Hips from All Pressure Therefrom; and I do hereby declare `that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the` accompanying drawings and to the letter of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 is a front view. Fig. 2 is a back view. Fig. 3 is a side view.

The object and design of my invention is lto construct and furnish such an article of dress for ladies wear, as shall be a suiiicient and complete support for the lower parts or skirts of the dress, and wholly prevent them from bearing against and resting upon the abdomen and hips and which shall also cause `them to be supported from and by thefshoulders, and without any necessity for the use of stays and stifeners in the waist or body, and at the same time securing a smooth and tasteful lit to the dress.

My invention consists in combining with or attaching to an ordinary dress waist, or

. body of any sort, a skirt supporter, which `is made by expanding and extending down- `ward such waist or body, and inserting therein, or attaching thereto, a number of entire hoops or circles, or their equivalents, of increasing size or length, which expanded part and its circles may also be so shaped as to perform the office of the ordinary bustle.

The waist or body A is made to fit the" body of the wearer, and should, for healths sake be so loose as to allow of free andunconstrained motion or turning of the body, but tight enough so as to fit smoothly and without wrinkles. Such waist or body is also so cut and made, that the parts a a pass over the arms or shoulders, and are in fact` a. part of the waist or body and not `attached to it. This waist or body may also be made higher or lower, as desired, and may be so fitted as not to ,interfere with low necked dresses, while at the same time the parts a; a will support the waist, and whatever garments may be attached to or placed over it, and without harm or discomfort to the wearer' from such garments, resting and bearing as they usually do, upon the abdomen and hips. Instead of terminating, as this part of the dress usually does,

shoulders.

NEW. YORK, N; lY.

at or about where the formis naturally he smallest, or atthe bottompfthe `waistoflthe dress, the part zAextends farther downward and `is expaned,basque likelaccording` to t fullnessof the form ofthe wearer,"and`i` y tends far enoughl toreceivefrom four totsor more hoops b, JJ', `tc..` -Such expand `part forms apart: of A,orxis tightly@` fa tened to it in any convenientmannerys y the lower garment, placed over` and r ting t upon such extended part will draworlbear" upon the body A, and iwithithave suppo t` y from the parts a, fo, extending lo `the The arrangement of the opsin the lex# panded part B is suchialso as to `prevent weight of the lower garments y from bea and resting lupon wthe: abdomen c andffh The first or upper` hoop should bequi e y .i near the smallest diameter` fiA,yandg should l be in diameter about twoinches larger lthan such smallest diameter.ofA.` lThe nexthoop b shouldbe alittlexlargerlthanib,an the space between it and b may b y, somew more than that between thezwaistlline of y and b. The other hoops b2, b9., &`c., al crease in size.f Suchhoops;willnotihow" vary `in size accordingtovany xed propo tion-the` varying forms, of individualsfren-x dering a differenceins theirnfrelati necessary-but they `should increase sufhciently to furnislr a supportz fo skirts and sustainthem from bearing` person, that is. suchlihoopss ranged that they shallffstan l form, 'instead of restingwup s effectually secured bymeans of theincrea ing size of the hoops, and also from; attaching the part in which` such hoops` are placed to the waist or bodyA.; Such `hoops. are to be fastenedltlo ether by a slidejor catch, as hereinaftm` escribed, orin any other way, so that they` willformentire and` complete' circles, and thus make andpreserv a shield like protectionfor guard to thevita organs, entirely encirclingja` the body," y `and1 thus, as a natural effect from their arrange, ment and completeness of circumference, Y relieving the body from all pressure, weight;` and also` unnecessary warmth of dress.` These hoops may be `run or;:insertedxindthe` part B, as shown inthe drawings or may l. be a skeleton of hoops, irmly attached orf` suspended from the `part `A. In either case the same result will tbelobtained, pro` vided the hoops aremade entire circles` If nou7 this waist or body, with the hoops at-V tached to or suspended therefrom, as above described, be put on the person and the skirts and lower garments be put over it, such garments must of course rest upon the hoops and will be supported from the shoulders, and can not bear down upon the abdomen, &c., and thus the body will be relieved from their weight and pressure, and the lower limbs will also be less free to move.

The natural weight of the skirts upon the hoops, these last being fastened to the body A, will also have the eect of keeping the waist and dress smooth and graceful, and stays and stiffeners for such purposes are therefore unnecessary.

The body and the hooped extension may be buttoned or laced, in whole or in part, and in front or at the back; or only the body may be buttoned or laced, which may also have a bone in it to lace over if desired.

As will be at once apparent from the foregoing description this invention is distinguished from other skirt supporters in the means by which the obj ect is attained.

The object sought is a support for Ythe skirts or lower garments which shall not in any way confine or press upon the abdomen or hips. This end is attained by inserting entire circles or hoops in an ordinary waist extended and expanded at the bottom in a form similar to the form of a basque. The Waist by its construction sustains the weight of the lower garments while the hoops by their VcompleteY rotundity relieve the body from the lateral pressure of the lower garments. This latter feature of relieving the form from the pressure of the lower garments, is entirely independent of the particular shape which may be given to the expanded part B, which can be easily altered or changed according t0 the demands of fashion. Tf it is desired to have the hoops project behind and form a bustle, the front part of B will be cut nearly straight, and

the flare or expansion will be made the greatest behind. ATf on the contrary it is desirable to have the dress set out from the form about the same before and behind, this is effected by shaping the part B accordingly. But whatever the shape given the part B, the arrangement of entire circles, or their equivalents, within it, renders it equally effective as a skirt supporter, and its connection with the waist A,-relieves the form from pressure.

As will also be apparent from the foregoing description the waist or body A may be made without any stays or stiffeners, and thus the form can be relieved from any pressure or constraint therefrom. Its construction thus allows such object to be attained, which cannot be effected with any other similar garment. The ordinary corset body, with stays and stifeners, may however be used in place of the body without stays, if for any reason desirable: in such case bands may be passed over the shoulders as a substitute for the parts a, a.

This garment does not interfere with any fashion, and can be as readily adapted to small skirts as to large ones, and to skirt-s with few or many hoops. It is equally useful and convenient, both as a waist and a skirt supporter under all circumstances whether hooped skirts are worn or not, and in all cases will be a relief to the form.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Lett-ers Patent is- The waist (A) in combination with the extension (B) expanded by the insertion of hoops, (b b 5) having their ends connected by tying them, and forming entire circles substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

D. B. HALE.

Witnesses:

S. D. LAW, WILLIAM Gr. DELAMATER. 

